Scheme for processing rental content in an information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A purchase type determining unit 244 determines whether content is rental content, which has a valid time limit for enjoying, from purchasing type information included in the license information. An icon image processing unit 352 disposes an icon image of the content in a menu screen. In case the content is determined to be rental content by the purchase type determining unit 244, a rental mark disposing unit 356 disposes a rental mark indicating that associated content is rental content near the icon image of the content or disposes the rental mark so as to overlap with the icon image of the content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/991,417 (having a 371(c) Date of Jan. 27, 2011), which is theNational Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2009/000919, filedFeb. 27, 2009, the entire contents and disclosures of which are bothhereby fully incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

This application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/991,417, andInternational Application No. PCT/JP2009/000919 all claim priority toJapanese Patent Application No. 2008-158570, filed Jun. 17, 2008,Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-158571, filed Jun. 17, 2008, andJapanese Patent Application No. 2008-170190, filed Jun. 30, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to technology utilized in informationprocessing apparatuses for processing content, and more specifically, totechnology utilized in information processing apparatuses for processingrental content.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY

Along with the development of the Internet, systems that enable thepurchase of video content and the download of the contents from thecontent distribution servers to information processing apparatuses so asusers can watch and/or listen to the content, are proposed. As a styleof purchasing, one type is to buy video content and the other type is torent content so as to be able to watch and/or listen to the content fora predetermined period of time. In the case of renting, the time periodfor watching and/or listening to the content is presumed to be limited.Therefore, the video content should be made unavailable for watchingand/or listening to in the information processing apparatuses after therental period has expired. [patent document No. 1] US patent publication6563999

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

In case that an information processing apparatus retains not only videocontent but also other variety of program files and/or data files, insome circumstances, it occurs that the rental content is buried in manyfiles, and the user of the content may forget about the existence of therental content or the user does not know where the content is stored. Insuch a case, the valid rental period expires while the user does notenjoy the rental content. Therefore, in order to avoid suchcircumstances, it is preferable that information processing apparatusesprovide a user interface where user can easily recognize rental content.Further, if the information processing apparatuses are able toeffectively provide a user with information on the rental time period,the level of convenience for using the rental services improves.

In case an information processing apparatus is used while shared by aplurality of users, sometimes different users download the same content.In such a case, the manner of how to allow respective users who sharethe apparatus to use the rental content is extremely important whenproviding rental services.

Accordingly, a purpose of the present invention is to provide technologyfor improving the level of convenience in the handling of rentalcontent.

Means to Solve the Problem

To address the purpose, an information processing apparatus forprocessing content is provided according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. The information processing apparatus comprises: astorage device operative to store content and license information of thecontent; a purchase type determining unit operative to determine whetheror not the content is rental content, which has a valid time limit foraccessing, from a purchase type information included in the licenseinformation; and a display processing unit operative to generate adisplay screen for selecting content. The display processing unit isprovided with: an icon image processing unit operative to dispose anicon image of the content on the display screen; and a rental markdisposing unit operative to, in case where the content is determined tobe rental content by the purchase type determining unit, dispose arental mark, which indicates that the associated content is rentalcontent, near an icon image of the content or dispose the rental mark soas to overlap with the icon image.

The information processing apparatus for processing content according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises: astorage device operative to store content and license information of thecontent; a start time derivation unit operative to derive a start timeof a valid period from valid period information included in the licenseinformation; an end time derivation unit operative to derive an end timeof the valid period from the valid period information; and a displayprocessing unit operative to generate a display screen. The displayprocessing unit comprises: a thumbnail image displaying unit operativeto display a thumbnail image of the content; and a time informationdisposing unit operative to dispose the start time derived by the starttime derivation unit and the end time derived by the end time derivationunit on display screen while associating the times with the thumbnailimage.

The information processing apparatus for processing content according toyet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises: astorage device operative to store content and license information of thecontent for a plurality of users; display processing unit operative togenerate a display screen including an icon image for selecting content;and a controller operative, when an icon image is selected, to controlthe processing of content corresponding to the selected icon image. Thecontroller is provided with a license usage specifying unit operative todetermine whether or not a license of a user who selected the icon imageis valid, and if the license is not valid, operative to specify a validlicense of another user as a license to be used, and an instructing unitoperative to give an instruction for processing the content utilizingthe specified license.

The information processing apparatus for processing content according toyet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises: astorage device operative to store content and license information of thecontent for a plurality of users; a display processing unit operative togenerate a display screen including an icon image for selecting content,and a controller operative, when an icon image is selected, to controlprocessing of content corresponding to the selected icon image. Thecontroller is provided with: a license usage specifying unit operativeto specify a license, which has the earliest valid time limit, includedin valid licenses of other users as a license to be used; and aninstructing unit operative to give instructions for processing thecontent utilizing the specified license.

Optional combinations of the aforementioned constituting elements andimplementations of the invention in the form of methods, apparatuses,systems, recording mediums and computer programs may also be practicedas additional modes of the present invention.

Effect of the Invention

According to the present invention, technology for improving theuser-friendliness of handling rental content can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a content purchasing system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an information processingapparatus;

FIG. 3A shows an example of structures of folders for storing videocontent formed on a hard disk;

FIG. 3B shows another example of structures of folders for storing videocontent formed on a hard disk;

FIG. 4 shows an example of structures of folders for storing licensefiles formed on a hard disk;

FIG. 5 mainly shows the interior structure of a main controller;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a menu screen displayed on an output device;

FIGS. 7A-E are time charts for explaining the process of deriving avalid period;

FIG. 8 shows another example of the menu screen displayed on the outputdevice;

FIG. 9 shows an example of a detailed information screen displayed onthe output device;

FIG. 10 shows an example of a confirmation screen;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process of displaying the menuscreen;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the process of deriving time information;and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process of specifying a license to beused.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 . . . contents purchasing system, 10 . . . information processingapparatus, 12 . . . output device, 18 . . . contents distributionserver, 34 . . . hard disk drive, 40 . . . remote controller, 100 . . .main controller, 200 instruction generating unit, 202 . . . menu screengeneration-instructing unit, 204 . . . detailed information screengeneration-instructing unit, 206 . . . playback instructing unit, 220 .. . valid period processing unit, 222 . . . playback time informationacquiring unit, 224 . . . start time derivation unit, 226 . . . end timederivation unit, 228 . . . remaining time derivation unit, 240 . . .license information processing unit, 242 . . . license informationacquiring unit, 244 purchase type determining unit, 246 . . . validperiod extracting unit, 260 . . . rental mark processing unit, 262 . . .valid time limit-determining unit, 264 . . . rental mark determiningunit, 280 . . . playback controlling unit, 282 . . . license usagespecifying unit, 284 . . . decoding instruction unit, 300 . . . storagedevice, 302 . . . content file, 304 . . . license file, 306 . . . keyfile, 310 . . . decoding unit, 320 . . . playback time writing unit, 340. . . display processing unit, 350 . . . menu screen generating unit,352 . . . icon image processing unit, 354 . . . folder image processingunit, 356 . . . rental mark disposing unit, 358 . . . time informationdisposing unit, 360 . . . confirmation screen generating unit, 370 . . .detailed information screen generating unit, 372 . . . thumbnail imagedisplaying unit, 374 . . . owner information disposing unit, 376 . . .content information disposing unit, 378 . . . time information disposingunit, 380 . . . purchasing screen generating unit.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a content purchasing system 1 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The content purchasing system 1comprises a remote controller 40, an information processing apparatus 10that processes content, and an output device 12 that outputs aprocessing result processed by the information processing apparatus 10.The remote controller 40 is an input interface device for allowing auser to input an operation into the information processing apparatus 10.Although the remote controller 40 transmits the operation inputwirelessly, an interface device connected to the information processingapparatus 10 via a cable may be alternatively used. The output device 12may be a television provided with a display for outputting images and aspeaker for outputting sound. The output device 12 may be connected withthe information processing apparatus 10 with a wire or cable or may bewirelessly connected with the information processing apparatus 10 bywireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the like. The informationprocessing apparatus 10 is communicably connected, via a router 15, witha content distribution server 18 connected with a network 16 so that theinformation processing apparatus 10 can download desired content.

The content distribution server 18 is operated by a video distributingcompany or the like and provides the information processing apparatus 10with coded video content file, license files that permit to watch and/orlisten to the content, and key files for decoding the content file. Thecontent distribution server 18 not only provide the informationprocessing apparatus 10 with video content files as content files, butmay also provide with music content files, game software files, or thelike as content files. Explanation will be given below on an examplewhere the content distribution server 18 provides a file relating tovideo content.

In the content purchasing system 1, the information processing apparatus10 purchases desired video content according to the instruction from auser sent from the remote controller 40 and downloads the content fromthe content distribution server 18. As for the style of purchasing,there is a style where video content is bought and a style where contentis rented. In the case where a user buys, the user can watch and/orlisten to the content at any time. On the other hand, in the case wherethe content is rented, a user is required to watch and/or listen to thevideo content before the valid time limit passes. If the valid timelimit has passed, the user can neither watch nor listen to the videocontent. The rented video content is managed by the informationprocessing apparatus 10.

The information processing apparatus 10 is provided with not only afunction for processing playback of the video content but may also beprovided with a function for the playback of music content. Theinformation processing apparatus 10 may also be provided with a functionfor processing game software and may be further provided with a functionfor processing other content. Therefore, the rental content in theexemplary embodiment is not limited to video content, but may alsoinclude a variety of content, such as, music content, game content, orthe like.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the information processingapparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 is provided with apower button 20, an LED 22, a system controller 24, a device controller30, a media drive 32, a hard disk drive 34, a switch 36, an airinterface 38, a main controller 100, a main memory 102, and an outputprocessing unit 104.

The power button 20 is an input unit where a control input from the useris provided. The button is operated to turn the power of informationprocessing apparatus 10 on or off. The LED 22 is turned on or off toindicate whether the power has been turned on or off. The systemcontroller 24 detects the pushed state or the non-pushed state of thepower button 20. Upon detecting the transition from the power-off stateto the pushed state, the controller 24 activates the main controller100, activates the boot sequence of the operating system, and turns theLED 22 on. When a power cable is connected to the information processingapparatus 10, the system controller 24 maintains the standby mode evenin the power-off state and monitors whether the power button 20 ispushed.

Like a south bridge, the device controller 30 is configured as a LSI(large-scale integrated circuit) for executing the delivery ofinformation between devices. As illustrated, devices, such as the systemcontroller 24, the media drive 32, the hard disk drive 34, the switch36, the main controller 100, or the like, are connected to the devicecontroller 30. The device controller 30 controls the timing of datatransfer by canceling differences in the electrical property of thedevices or differences in data transfer rates thereof. The hard diskdrive 34 drives a built-in hard disk and reads/writes data. The built-inhard disk functions as a storage device for storing data. The mediadrive 32 drives and recognizes, if a read-only recording medium 50 isattached to the drive, the recording medium 50 and reads out necessarydata from the recording medium 50. The recording medium 50 may be amedium such as an optical disk, a magnet optical disk, or the like.

The switch 36 is an Ethernet switch (Ethernet is trademarked) and is adevice connected with external devices via a wire or wirelessly andtransmits and receives data. The switch 36 receives content files,license files, and key files from the content distribution server 18 viathe network 16. Further, the switch 36 is connected with the airinterface 38. The air interface 38 is connected with the remotecontroller 40 using a wireless communication protocol such as Bluetooth(registered trademark) protocol, the IEEE 802.11 protocol, or the like.Information on the user's operation input into the remote controller 40is provided to the main controller 100 via the air interface 38, theswitch 36, and the device controller 30.

The main controller 100 comprises a multi-core CPU, wherein one CPU isprovided with one general-purpose processor core and a plurality ofsimple processor cores. The general-purpose processor core is referredto as a PPU (Power Processing Unit), and the rest of the processor coresare referred to as SPU (Synergistic-Processing Unit). In the maincontroller 100, an Operating System (hereinafter referred to as simply“OS”) that provides the function and environment for effectively usingthe information processing apparatus 10 and for controlling the wholeapparatus integrally is executed. The OS of the information processingapparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment is providedwith three layers, that is, a user layer, a kernel layer and ahypervisor layer, in this order from the upper layer to the lower layer.Software of the user layer, the kernel layer, and the hypervisor layerintegrally functions as the “OS” of the information processing apparatus10.

Upon activating the power using the power button 20, the systemcontroller 24 provides the power to the main controller 100 and theoutput processing unit 104 via the device controller 30. After the poweris provided to the main controller 100, the PPU firstly executes a bootloader of the OS so as to activate the hypervisor layer. Subsequently,the PPU activates the kernel layer of the OS and activates the userlayer accordingly, so as to prepare for receiving data provided from thehard disk drive 34 or from the recording medium 50.

The main controller 100 comprises a memory controller connected to themain memory 102. The PPU is provided with a register and comprises amain processor as a main body for executing calculation. The PPUefficiently allocates a task, as a basic unit of processing in anapplication to be executed, to respective SPUs. PPU may execute a taskby itself. SPU is provided with a register and comprises a sub processoras a main body for executing calculations and local memory as localstorage. The main memory 102 and the local memory are provided as RAM(random access memory). The SPU is provided with a DMA (Direct MemoryAccess) controller as a controlling unit for its exclusive use. Bytransmitting data between the main memory 102 and the local memory, theSPU can process stream data at a high speed and can implement high-speeddata transmission between the frame memory built in the outputprocessing unit 104 and the local memory.

The output processing unit 104 is connected to the output device 12 andoutputs image signals and sound signals that are the results ofprocessing the application. The output processing unit 104 comprises aGPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that implements an image processingfunction. The GPU may adopt HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface).

In the information processing apparatus 10 according to the presentexemplary embodiment, a variety of content, such as video content, musiccontent, game content, or the like, is stored on the hard disk drive 34.This variety of content may be downloaded from the content distributionserver 18, or may be installed from the recording medium 50. Thesecontent files are classified on the hard disk drive 34 by the use offolders.

FIG. 3A shows an example of the structure of the folders for storingvideo content formed on a hard disk. A video content file (XYZ.VDO) isstored in a VIDEO folder. FIG. 3B shows another example of the structureof the folders for storing video content formed on a hard disk. Thisfolder structure is constituted as a hierarchy structure. The videocontent file (XYZ.VDO) is stored in a folder AA, formed in the VIDEOfolder.

As described above, for respective rental content, the valid rentalperiod during which the content can be enjoyed is determined. Therefore,the information processing apparatus 10 according to the presentexemplary embodiment provides a GUI (Graphical User Interface) thateffectively shows a user the existence of the rental content. Thisallows the user to watch and/or listen to the rental content withoutforgetting that he/she has acquired the rental content.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of the folders for storinglicense files formed on a hard disk. A license file, (ABC.LCN), isstored in a folder (USER ID), which is stored in the folder LICENSE.Since the (USER ID) is the identification number of a user registered inthe information processing apparatus 10, license files are stored infolders for respective users. The USER ID may be the identificationnumber of a user itself or may be a character string derived from theidentification number of the user. License files are provided withinformation on the type of purchase model for the content and licenseinformation, such as the start time and end time of the valid period, orthe like. By acquiring and retaining license files, the informationprocessing apparatus 10 recognizes that a license for playback of therental content is granted. Whether or not the license is valid isdetermined based on the license information and other conditions. Morespecifically, if the current time is before the valid time limit passes,the license is determined to be valid, and if the valid time limit haspassed, the license is determined to be invalid.

In the content purchasing system 1, the valid period for playback of thecontent is set to a predetermined numbers of days, for example, fourteendays. The valid periods may be set for the respective content. As thestart time of the valid period, the date and time when the content isdownloaded may be set. Alternatively, a predetermined date and timeafter the content is downloaded may be set as the start time. Oncecontent is played back, the information processing apparatus 10 resetsthe end time of the valid period of the played-back content to betwenty-four hours after the time of the first playback.

Although the information processing apparatus 10 can be shared and usedby a plurality of users, as a general rule, the data of the respectiveusers is stored in different folders on the hard disk drive 34. The nameof a folder is formed so as to be associated with the user ID(identification information) of each user. The OS of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 bans access to the folders by other users basedon a user ID input when a user logs on, by which, a user cannot use thedata of other users without permission. Therefore, the security ofpersonal data can be retained.

Meanwhile, since video content is not personal data, it is preferable toallow other users besides the user who downloaded the content to be ableto watch and/or listen to the content. For example, in case the membersof a family share the information processing apparatus 10, it may beconfigured so that all the family members can watch the downloaded videocontent. In the case of renting video cassettes or DVDs from videostores, conventionally, the members of a family have been permitted towatch the videos in turn. Taking this into consideration, theinformation processing apparatus 10 allows a plurality of registeredusers to enjoy the video content.

FIG. 5 mainly shows the interior structure of the main controller 100.The main controller 100 comprises an instruction generating unit 200, avalid period processing unit 220, a license information processing unit240, a rental mark processing unit 260, a playback controlling unit 280,a decoding unit 310, a playback time writing unit 320, and a displayprocessing unit 340. A storage device 300 is the hard disk drive 34 andstores a plurality of content files 302 a-302 b, a plurality of licensefiles 304 a-304 d, and a plurality of key files 306 a-306 d. The keyfiles 306 include key information for decoding the coded content files302. In order to prohibit the playback of the downloaded content files302 by another information processing apparatus, the key information isacquired via the content distribution server 18, is encrypted using thedevice ID of the information processing apparatus 10, and is stored.

The license file 304 and the key file 306 are given by the contentdistribution server 18 to a user who downloaded the content file 302. Ifa same content file 302 is downloaded a plurality of times by differentusers, the content file is overwritten and stored in the storage device300. Meanwhile, the license file 304 and the key file 306 are given tothe user who downloaded the content file 302. In this case, for onecontent file 302, license files 304 and key files 306 for a plurality ofusers are stored in the storage device 300, respectively.

The instruction generating unit 200 comprises a menu screengeneration-instructing unit 202, a detailed information screengeneration-instructing unit 204, and a playback instructing unit 206.The instruction generating unit 200 receives operation input orinformation on power activation from the remote controller 40, and theinstruction generating unit 200 issues a predetermined instruction tothe functional blocks for which it is necessary to send instructions,the blocks being selected from the valid period processing unit 220, thelicense information processing unit 240, the rental mark processing unit260, the playback controlling unit 280, the decoding unit 310, and thedisplay processing unit 340.

The menu screen generation-instructing unit 202 issues instructioninformation, which is for generating a menu screen for selectingcontent, to functional blocks for which it is necessary to send theinstruction. This instruction information is formed, for example, whenthe power button 20 is pushed, when the screen is changed back from thedetailed information screen to the menu screen, when the main screen ismanipulated, or the like. The detailed information screengeneration-instructing unit 204 issues instruction information forchanging the screen from the menu screen to the detailed informationscreen of the content. The unit 204 issues the instruction informationfrom the remote controller 40 to the functional blocks that need theinstruction. This instruction information is formed, for example, whenthe operation for changing screens from the menu screen to the detailedcontent information screen is received from the remote controller 40.The playback instructing unit 206 issues instruction information forplaying back content to the necessary functional blocks. Thisinstruction information is generated when the playback of content isinstructed on the menu screen.

The valid period processing unit 220 is provided with a playback timeinformation acquiring unit 222, a start time derivation unit 224, an endtime derivation unit 226, and a remaining time derivation unit 228. Thevalid period processing unit 220 executes a process for deriving, forthe respective license information, the valid periods during whichcontent can be enjoyed.

The playback time information acquiring unit 222 acquires, from thestorage device 300, information on the time when the content is firstplayed back based on the license. This first playback time informationis written in the key file 306 associated with the license file 304, andthe playback time information acquiring unit 222 acquires the firstplayback time information from the key file 306. In case the content isnot played back under that license, the first playback time informationis not included in the key file 306. The start time derivation unit 224derives the start time of the valid period of the content. The end timederivation unit 226 derives the end time of the valid period of thecontent. The end time of the valid period may also be referred to as“valid time limit” in this specification. The remaining time derivationunit 228 derives the remaining time until the valid time limit.

The license information processing unit 240 is provided with a licenseinformation acquiring unit 242, a purchase type determining unit 244,and a valid period extracting unit 246. The license informationprocessing unit 240 performs processing on license information.

The license information acquiring unit 242 acquires license informationfrom the license file 304 stored in the storage device 300. If a licensefile 304 exists, the license information acquiring unit 242 recognizesthat the content associated with the license file 304 is granted alicense. The purchase type determining unit 244 determines the type ofpurchase from the purchase type information included in the licenseinformation. As described above, the type of purchase can be buying orrenting. The valid period extracting unit 246 extracts, if the type ofpurchase of the content is rental, the start time and end time of thevalid period included in the license information.

The rental mark processing unit 260 performs processing on rental marksto be disposed near the icon image of the content or to be disposedwhile overlapped on the icon image on the menu screen. The rental marksare marks for showing users that the content is rental content.

A valid time limit-determining unit 262 determines whether or not thevalid time limit has already been reached. A rental mark determiningunit 264 selects and determines, from a plurality of types of rentalmarks, a rental mark to be disposed near the icon image of the contentor to be disposed while overlapped on the icon image.

The playback controlling unit 280 receives an instruction for playback,and then performs a process for controlling the playback of the content.A license usage specifying unit 282 specifies a license to be used forthe playback of the content. The decoding instruction unit 284 instructsthe decoding unit 310 to use the specified license and perform theprocess of decoding the content.

The decoding unit 310 uses the specified license and performs theprocess of decoding the content. In the case where the process ofdecoding while using that license is performed for the first time, theplayback time writing unit 320 writes the first playback timeinformation into the corresponding key file 306.

The display processing unit 340 is provided with a menu screengenerating unit 350, a confirmation screen generating unit 360, adetailed information screen generating unit 370, and a purchasing screengenerating unit 380. The display processing unit 340 performs theprocess of generating display images in the output device 12.

The menu screen generating unit 350 is provided with an icon imageprocessing unit 352, a folder image processing unit 354, a rental markdisposing unit 356, and a time information disposing unit 358. The menuscreen generating unit 350 receives an instruction for generating themenu screen from the menu screen generation-instructing unit 202 andthen generates a menu screen for selecting the content.

The icon image processing unit 352 disposes the icon images of thecontent on the menu screen. If a user instructs one of the icon imagesto play back, the playback instructing unit 206 generates the playbackinstruction for the content associated with that icon image. The folderimage processing unit 354 disposes a folder image on the menu screen.The rental mark disposing unit 356 disposes a rental mark near the iconimage or disposes the rental mark so as to be overlapped with the iconimage. Further, the rental mark disposing unit 356 disposes a rentalmark near the image of a folder or disposes a rental mark so as to beoverlapped with the folder image, wherein the folder is a folderincluding the rental content or a folder positioned in upper level ofthe folder including the rental content in a hierarchy structure offolders. The time information disposing unit 358 disposes information onthe end time of the valid period (valid time limit), while associatingthe information and the icon image of the rental content with eachother.

The confirmation screen generating unit 360 generates a confirmationscreen for asking a user whether the user agree to start the playback ofthe content.

The detailed information screen generating unit 370 is provided with athumbnail image displaying unit 372, an owner information disposing unit374, a content information disposing unit 376, and a time informationdisposing unit 378. The detailed information screen generating unit 370generates a detailed information screen that indicates information onthe content, valid periods, or the like.

The thumbnail image displaying unit 372 disposes thumbnail images forspecifying content at the predetermined location. The owner informationdisposing unit 374 disposes information on the owner of the license inthe detailed information screen. The content information disposing unit376 disposes information relating to the content in the detailedinformation screen. The time information disposing unit 378 disposesinformation relating to the valid period in the detailed informationscreen.

The elements depicted in FIG. 5, as functional blocks for performingvarious processes, are implemented in hardware by CPUs (CentralProcessing Unit), memory, or other LSI's, and in software by programs,etc., loaded into the memory. As mentioned before, the main controller100 is provided with a single PPU and a plurality of SPUs. The PPU andthe SPUs can form functional blocks either alone or in combination.Therefore, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that thefunctional blocks may be implemented in a variety of manners by hardwareonly, software only, or a combination of thereof.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a menu screen 400 a displayed on the outputdevice 12. In the menu screen 400 a, a plurality of folder images 402a-402 e are disposed in a horizontal array. Among those images, thefolder image 402 b shows a folder for music content, the folder image402 c shows a folder for video content, and the folder image 402 d showsa folder for game content. Icon images 404 a-404 b are disposed in avertical array. By manipulating the remote controller 40, scrolling, andmoving a desired icon to the position of focus region, a user can allowthe process associated with the icon to be executed. In an example shownin FIG. 6, the icon image 404 a of video content is disposed in thefocus region. If a user pushes a predetermined button on the remotecontroller 40, the instruction for playback is issued, and one videohaving the title “AiraplaneAAA” among the video content is played back,accordingly. An explanation will be given below on the generationprocessing of the menu screen 400 a while referring to FIG. 5.

The menu screen generation-instructing unit 202 issues an instructionfor generating the menu screen, and then the menu screen generating unit350 generates the menu screen for selecting content. More specifically,the folder image processing unit 354 determines the position to displaythe highest level folder images 402 a-402 e and disposes the images onthe menu screen. The icon image processing unit 352 searches for videocontent by referring to the VIDEO folder on the hard disk drive 34 andspecifies the icon image 404 to be displayed. The icon image processingunit 352 determines the display position of the icon image 404 of thespecified video content and disposed the images on the menu screen. Theicon image 404 is, for example, included in the content file 302, andthe icon image processing unit 352 acquires the icon image from contentfiles shown in FIG. 3A or 3B. If the folder image 402 b, which is afolder of music content, is disposed on the position of the folder image402 c in the menu screen 400 a, the icon image processing unit 352searches for music content by referring to the MUSIC folder on the harddisk drive 34 and specifies the icon image to be displayed.

In this process, in the license information processing unit 240, thelicense information acquiring unit 242 acquires, from the license file304, license information on the user who logs on. As shown in FIG. 4,the license information is retained in a folder specified by a user ID.The license information acquiring unit 242 acquires license informationretained by a user based on the user ID of the user. By generating thefile name of the license file 304 using content ID, it becomes easy toread out the license file 304 associated with the content. The purchasetype determining unit 244 determines whether or not the content isrental content, which has a valid period for enjoying that content, frompurchase type information included in the license information. Purchasetype information is information representing either buying or rentingthe content and may be set, for example, as a flag value of 0 or 1. Inthe content purchasing system 1 according to the present exemplaryembodiment, the license information acquiring unit 242 checks, based onthe user ID, the existence or nonexistence of the license file 304 ofthe video content to be displayed by the icon image 404 on the menuscreen 400 a. If the license file 304 exists, the video content isconfirmed to be rental content. If the content is determined to berental content, the valid period extracting unit 246 acquires the validperiod information indicating the start time of the valid period and theend time of the valid period from the license information and providesthe valid period information to the valid period processing unit 220.

In the menu screen 400 a shown in FIG. 6, the valid time limitinformation 406 is displayed while associated with the icon image 404.Therefore, in the process of generating the menu screen 400 a, it isnecessary to derive only the end time of the valid period (valid timelimit) and, according to circumstances, the remaining time of the validperiod. On the other hand, in a detailed information screen 420, whichwill be described later in detail in relation with FIG. 9, the starttime of the valid period and the remaining time of the valid period aredisplayed in addition to the end time of the valid period. The processif deriving that time information is performed in the valid periodprocessing unit 220. Thus, in order to avoid redundant explanation, anexplanation will be given below on a process wherein the valid periodprocessing unit 220 derives the start time, the end time, and theremaining time.

In the valid period processing unit 220, when content has not yet playedback, the start time derivation unit 224 derives the start time of thevalid period of the content from the provided valid period information.The end time derivation unit 226 derives the end time of the validperiod of the content from the provided valid period information. Thestart time and the end time derived in this process are same with thestart time and the end time included in the valid period information,respectively. As a general rule, the remaining time derivation unit 228calculates the remaining time as time from the present time to the endtime.

In the content purchasing system 1, as described above, once content isplayed back, the end time of the valid period of that content is resetto the time that is twenty-four hours after the playback time. That is,after the content is played back, the first playback time is set as thestart time of the valid period, and the end time of the valid period isset to be twenty-four hours after the start time. An explanation will begiven below on process of deriving the valid period while referring toFIG. 7.

FIGS. 7A-E are time charts for explaining the process of deriving thevalid period. In FIGS. 7A-E, “NOW” indicates the time when the validperiod is derived (herein after, referred to as a present time). Theprocess of deriving the valid period is performed every time a displayscreen that displays time information is switched to another screen. Itis assumed the start time included in the valid period information is3rd June 1:30 PM. and the end time is 17th June 1:30 PM.

FIG. 7A shows the status where the present time is before the start timethat is included in the valid period information. In this case, a usercannot watch and/or listen to the content. The start time derivationunit 224 sets the start time included in the valid period information asthe start time of the valid period. The end time derivation unit 226sets the end time included in the valid period information as the endtime of the valid period. The remaining time derivation unit 228 setsthe time from the start time to the end time as the remaining time.

START TIME: 3rd June, 1:30 PM END TIME: 17th June, 1:30 PM

REMAINING TIME: 14 days

FIG. 7B shows the status where the present time is after the start timeincluded in the valid period information and the content has not yetbeen played back. Since the content has not yet been played back, thestart time derivation unit 224 sets the start time included in the validperiod information as the start time of the valid period. The end timederivation unit 226 sets the end time included in the valid periodinformation as the end time of the valid period. The remaining timederivation unit 228 sets the time period from the present time to theend time as the remaining time.

START TIME: 3rd June, 1:30 PM END TIME: 17th June, 1:30 PM

REMAINING TIME: 11 days

FIG. 7C shows a status where the present time is within twenty-fourhours after the content was first played back. Referring to FIG. 5, thedecoding unit 310 decodes and plays back the content using the license,and then the playback time writing unit 320 writes the first playbacktime information into the key file 306. The valid period processing unit220 is activated at the present time, the playback time informationacquiring 222 acquires the first playback time information from the keyfile 306 corresponding to the license and provides the start timederivation unit 224 and the end time derivation unit 226 with the firstplayback time information, accordingly. The start time derivation unit224 receives the first playback time information and then sets the firstplayback time as the start time of the valid period. The end timederivation unit 226 receives the first playback time information andthen sets the time to a predetermined time (here, for example,twenty-four hours) after the first playback time as the end time of thevalid period. If the time, which is twenty-four hours after the firstplayback time, is later than the original end time included in the validperiod information, the end time is set to be the end time included inthe valid period information. The remaining time derivation unit 228sets a time period from the present time to the end time as theremaining time.

START TIME: 9th June, 3:00 PM END TIME: 10th June, 3:00 PM

REMAINING TIME: 17 hours 30 minutes

FIG. 7D shows a status where the first playback has already beenperformed and where the present time is later than the end time. Thestart time derivation unit 224 sets the first playback time as the starttime of the valid period. The end time derivation unit 226 sets a timethat is twenty-four hours after the first playback time as the end timeof the valid period. Since the present time is later than the end time,the remaining time derivation unit 228 determines the status to be“valid period expired”.

START TIME: 9th June, 3:00 PM END TIME: 10th June, 3:00 PM

REMAINING TIME: valid period expired

FIG. 7E shows a status where the end time has passed already without thecontent ever having been played back. Since the present time is laterthan the end time, the remaining time derivation unit 228 determines thestatus to be “time period expired”.

START TIME: 3rd June, 1:30 PM END TIME: 17th June, 1:30 PM

REMAINING TIME: valid period expired

Referring back to FIG. 5, the valid period processing unit 220 performsa process relating to the valid period. As described above, in theprocess of generating the menu screen 400 a, the start time derivationunit 224 may not function since the start time of valid period is notnecessary for the process. The end time derived by the end timederivation unit 226 and the remaining time derived by the remaining timederivation unit 228 are provided to the rental mark processing unit 260.The end time is provided also to the display processing unit 340.

In the rental mark processing unit 260, the valid time limit-determiningunit 262 receives the end time and then determines whether or not theend time (valid time limit) has already passed while referring to thepresent time. This determination may be performed based on the remainingtime, alternatively.

The rental mark determining unit 264 receives the determination resultmade by the valid time limit-determining unit 262 and determines therental mark to be allocated to the rental content. More specifically,the rental mark determining unit 264 allocates the first rental mark tothe rental content for which the valid time limit has not yet beenreached and allocates the second rental mark to rental content for whichthe valid time limit has already passed. In the menu screen 400 a shownin FIG. 6, a rental mark 410 a is allocated to the rental content havingthe title “AirplaneAAA” for which the valid time limit has not yet beenreached, and a rental mark 410 b is allocated to the rental contenthaving the title “BirthdayDDD” for which the valid time limit hasalready passed. Allocated rental marks are provided to the rental markdisposing unit 356, and the rental mark disposing unit 356 disposes therental marks 410 near the respective icon images 404 or disposes therental marks 410 so that the marks overlap with the respective iconimages. In the menu screen 400 a, the rental mark disposing unit 356disposes the rental marks 410 along the left edge of the icon images404.

By allowing the rental mark disposing unit 356 to attach rental marks410 a to an icon image 404 a for which the valid time limit has not yetcome, a user can easily recognize the existence of rental content thatis available for watching and/or listening to and can have the incentiveto watch and/or listen to the content.

Further, by allowing the rental mark disposing unit 356 to attach rentalmarks 410 b to icon images 404 b for which the valid time limit hasalready passed, a user can easily recognize the existence of non-validrental content. Thus, a trigger for enlarging the capacity of thestorage device 300, for example, by deleting the content files, can begiven to the user.

The rental mark determining unit 264 may allocate different rental marksfor rental content for which remaining time is equal to or more than apredetermined period before the valid time limit and for rental contentfor which the remaining time is less than the predetermined period,respectively. For example, it is preferable to give emergency notice toa user of the existence of rental content for which the remaining timeis less than twenty-four hours before the valid time limit. Therefore,for rental content for which the remaining time is more than twenty-fourhours before the valid time limit, a still image rental mark may beallocated. On the other hand, for rental content for which the remainingtime is less than twenty-four hours before the valid time limit, amoving image rental mark may be allocated. For example, by allocating ablinking rental mark, the attention of a user can be called.Alternatively, by allocating an appealing rental mark, such as a mark inluminescent color or the like, the attention of the user can also becalled.

The time information disposing unit 358 receives the end time from theend time derivation unit 226 and then disposes the end time (valid timelimit) information 406 on the menu screen 400 a while associating theinformation with the icon image 404. For example, disposing the validtime limit information 406 at the same horizontal level on the screenwith an icon image 404 clearly indicates that the information has arelationship with the icon image 404. In the menu screen 400, the validtime limit information 406 b for which the time limit has already passedand the valid time limit information 406 a for which the time limit hasnot yet been reached are disposed while associated with the icon image404 b and the icon image 404 a, respectively.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the menu screen 400 b displayed on theoutput device 12. In this example, folder structures are formed as ahierarchical structure. On the menu screen 400 b, the rental content isincluded in a folder that is positioned at a layer lower than a folderpositioned at the top layer. More specifically, the rental content isstored in a folder corresponding to the folder image 408 a. The rentalmark determining unit 264 allocates a rental mark to the folder thatincludes the rental content, and the rental mark disposing unit 356disposes the rental mark 410 c near the folder image 408 a or disposesthe mark so that the mark overlaps with the folder image 408 a. Therental mark determining unit 264 also allocates a rental mark to afolder positioned at the highest level in the hierarchical structure ofthe folder that includes rental content. The rental mark disposing unit356 disposes the allocated rental mark 410 d near the folder image 402 cor disposes the mark so that the mark overlaps with the folder image 402c.

In case where rental content is included in a folder that is positionedat a lower layer of the folders of the hierarchical structure, a usercan not recognize the rental content without opening the folders of thehierarchical structure one by one. Thus, by attaching rental marks 410also to the respective folders at their respective layers constitutingthe hierarchical structure, a user can easily recognize the existence ofthe rental content.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the detailed information screen 420 displayedon the output device 12. A user manipulates the remote controller 40 ina predetermined manner on the menu screen 400 a, the detailedinformation screen generation-instructing unit 204 then issues aninstruction for generating the detailed information screen, and thedetailed information screen generating unit 370 generates the detailedinformation screen 420 including content information, valid periodinformation, or the like. The valid period processing unit 220 receivesthe instruction for generating the detailed information screen, thenperforms processing of valid period, derives the start time, the endtime, and the remaining time, and provides the derived times to thedetailed information screen generating unit 370, accordingly

The thumbnail image displaying unit 372 generates the thumbnail image412 of content and disposes the image on a predetermined position on thedetailed information screen 420. For example, the thumbnail imagedisplaying unit 372 may acquire the icon image 404 a and the rental mark410 a from the menu screen 400 a and may generate the thumbnail image412. Further, the thumbnail image displaying unit 372 may acquire apredetermined image from the content file 302 and may generate thethumbnail image 412. This image to be acquired may be a still image ormay be a moving image. The thumbnail image displaying unit 372 maysearch for video content by referring to the VIDEO folder on the harddisk drive 34 in a similar manner as that performed by the icon imageprocessing unit 352 and may extract an icon image to be displayed as athumbnail image. In this case, the rental mark disposing unit 356attaches a rental mark to the thumbnail image 412.

The owner information disposing unit 374 disposes owner information 414on the detailed information screen 420 while associating the ownerinformation with the thumbnail image 412. The owner informationdisposing unit 374 acquires the user ID as the owner information 414.The content information disposing unit 376 disposes the contentinformation 418 on the detailed information screen 420 while associatingthe content information with the thumbnail image 412. The contentinformation disposing unit 376 acquires the content information 418 fromthe content file 302. The time information disposing unit 378 disposesthe start time, the end time, and the remaining time, provided by thevalid period processing unit 220, on the detailed information screen 420while associating the times with the thumbnail image 412. The timeinformation disposing unit 378 may dispose the number of times it hasbeen played back on the detailed information screen 420. The thumbnailimages 412 are disposed in the upper center and the owner information414, time information 416, and the content information 418 are disposedunder the thumbnail images 412.

In case the remaining time becomes less than a predetermined time, forexample, less than forty-eight hours, the time information disposingunit 378 may change the format for displaying the remaining time fromthat which uses days at a unit to that which uses hours at a unit. Incase that the remaining time is closing in on the end time, by applyinghours as a unit for displaying time, this strengthens the incentive towatch and/or listen to the content. Further, the time informationdisposing unit 378 may apply colors different from other displayedinformation in order to display the remaining time so as to be appealingor may apply a font different from other displayed information in orderto display the remaining time so as to be appealing, in case that theremaining time becomes less than the predetermined time.

A user can check the start time of the valid period and the remainingtime of the valid period by looking at the detailed information screen420. In the menu screens 400 a and 400 b, although the valid time limitis indicated, the start time and the remaining time are not presented. Auser can check whether or not content has already been played back bylooking at the start time. Particularly, in case that the same rentalmark is used as a rental mark for content that has not yet been playedback and as a rental mark for content that has already been played back,by presenting the remaining time, a user can know, for example, thatanother user has watched and/or listened to the content. In addition, bylooking at the remaining time, a user can confirm that he/she shouldwatch and/or look at the content shortly. Particularly, in case that therental marks are not changed based on the remaining time, by showing theremaining time, this improves the incentive to watch and/or listen tothe content.

In case there is license information of a plurality of users for thesame content, the time information disposing unit 378 disposes timeinformation 416 for respective license owners on the detailedinformation screen 420. As described above, since the file names oflicense files 304 are created using the content IDs, the timeinformation disposing unit 378 refers to a folder specified byrespective user IDs included in the LICENSE folder shown in FIG. 4 andsearches for the license file 304 of the same content. This allows thetime information disposing unit 378 to acquire another license file 304of the same content owned by another user besides the logged-on user.

In this process, the start time derivation unit 224 derives the starttime of the valid period for each license owner based on valid periodinformation or the first processing time when the content was firstplayed back included in license information of each license owner. Theend time derivation unit 226 derives the end time of the valid periodfor each license owner based on valid period information or the firstprocessing time when the content was first played back included inlicense information of each license owner. This allows the timeinformation 416 for a plurality of license owners to be disposed anddisplayed on the detailed information screen 420. Further, the ownerinformation disposing unit 374 identifies the name of the license ownerbased on the name of the USER ID folder in which the license file 304 isstored and disposes the name of the license owner as the ownerinformation 414 above the time information 416. Thus, a plurality ofsets of owner information 414 and time information 416 are disposed sothat a set for the logged-on user comes up on top and the sets of otherusers come up below the logged-on user. This allows the logged-on userto recognize that there is a plurality of pieces of license informationfor one file of the content and to recognize concurrently whether thecontent is available for watching and/or listening to.

A user instructs an icon image 404 on the menu screens 400 a or 400 b toplay back, and then the playback instructing unit 206 issues aninstruction for playing back the content corresponding to the icon image404 a. The playback controlling unit 280 receives the instruction forplayback and controls a process for playing back the content,accordingly.

The license usage specifying unit 282 determines whether the license ofthe user who has instructed the icon image 404 to play back is valid. Ifthe license is not valid, the license usage specifying unit 282specifies a valid license of another user as a license to be used.Whether or not the license is valid is determined by whether or not thevalid time limit has come already. For example, suppose a case where theicon image 404 b is moved to the focus region and is instructed to playback. Since the valid time limit for the content corresponding to theicon image 404 b has passed already, the license for video contenthaving the title “BirthdayDDD” is determined to be invalid. If there isno license information for another user corresponding to the samecontent, i.e., there is no other user who has downloaded this content,the license usage specifying unit 282 determines that the content is notavailable for playback.

Upon receiving the instruction for playing back, the end time derivationunit 226 derives the valid time limit and provides the time limit to thelicense usage specifying unit 282. The license usage specifying unit 282compares the derived valid time limit and the present time and thendetermines whether the license is valid. In the content purchasingsystem 1, it is allowable that a user can also play back the contentthat is downloaded by another user. Thus, even if the user's own licenseis not valid, the user can watch and/or listened to the content as longas the license of another user is valid. The decoding instruction unit284 uses the license specified by the license usage specifying unit 282and instructs the decoding unit 310 to process the decoding of thecontent. The decoding unit 310 reads out the content file 302, acquireskey information from the key file 306, and decodes the content file,accordingly.

The license usage specifying unit 282 may specify a license that has theearliest valid time limit, from among the licenses of other users, as alicense to be used. This enables one to provide a highly convenientrental service for users who share the information processing apparatus10 without placing ahead a valid time limit for the whole device.

In case the license usage specifying unit 282 specifies the license ofanother user as a license to be used, the confirmation screen generatingunit 360 may generate a confirmation screen for asking the user whetherthe processing of the content may be started.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the confirmation screen 430. If a userinstructs the icon image 404 b to play back, he/she can play back thevideo content having the title “BirthdayDDD” by using the license ofanother user. However, the user may not be aware that he/she is usingthe license of another user. Therefore, by presenting the user with theconfirmation screen 430, the user can avoid the situation where he/sheuses the license of another by mistake.

The license usage specifying unit 282 may specify a license that has theearliest valid time limit as a license to be used, regardless of whetherthe license belongs to the logged-on user or belongs to another user.This allows one to implement a highly convenient rental service forusers who share the information processing apparatus 10 without placingahead a valid time limit for the whole device.

If there is no valid license of another user when an instruction forplaying back is given to the icon image 404 b of rental content withwhich the valid time limit is expired, the purchasing screen generatingunit 380 may generate a purchase screen for the content. This allows auser who would like to watch and/or listen to the content to easilypurchase the content once more. If the license usage specifying unit 282determines that no valid license exists for the content to which theplayback instruction is given, a purchase instructing unit (not shown)transmits a request for acquiring the license file 304 of the videocontent “BirthdayDDD” to the content distribution server 18. Thisrequest for acquiring includes information for identifying the“BirthdayDDD”. The content distribution server 18 receives the requestfor acquiring the license file 304 of the content “BirthdayDDD”, andthen generates data on composition of the content purchasing screen andtransmits the data to the information processing apparatus 10,accordingly. The purchasing screen generating unit 380 receives the dataand generates the purchasing screen of the content. A user can downloadthe license file 304 by pushing down a predetermined button (e.g., apurchase button) in this purchasing screen. In this process, the contentfile 302 may be downloaded along with the license file. According to theprocedure described above, upon instructing the playback of content, auser can purchase the content with an easy procedure. This process maybe configured so that the user can choose either buying or renting as apurchasing type.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process of displaying the menuscreen. An explanation will be given below on the process where the menuscreen 400 a shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. The menu screengeneration-instructing unit 202 issues an instruction for generating amenu screen, then the icon image processing unit 352 searches for videocontent by referring to the VIDEO folder on the hard disk drive 34 andspecifies an icon image 404 to be displayed (S10). In this process, inthe license information processing unit 240, the license informationacquiring unit 242 checks the existence or nonexistence of the licensefile 304 of the video content corresponding to the icon image 404 to bedisplayed on the menu screen 400 a (S12). If the license file 304exists, the purchase type determining unit 244 determines whether or notthe content is rental content that has a valid period of enjoyment(S14). If the content is not rental content (N in S14), the icon imageprocessing unit 352 determines an icon image 404 that indicates theexistence of the content (S20). On the other hand, if the content isrental content (Y in S14), the valid period processing unit 220 derivesthe valid period for that rental content (S16). The rental markdetermining unit 264 determines a rental mark 410 to be displayed basedon the relationship between the valid time limit and the present time(S18). Subsequently, the icon image processing unit 352 determines theicon image of the rental content (S20). The processing order of theprocess for determining the rental mark and the process for determiningan icon image may be interchangeable. Alternatively, these processes areperformed in parallel. The processes shown as S16˜S20 are performed forall the subjects to be displayed (N in S22), and if the processes forall the subjects are completed (Y in S22), the icon image processingunit 352 displays the menu screen (S24). In this process, the rentalmark disposing unit 356 disposes the rental mark 410 near the icon image404 of the rental content or disposes the rental mark 410 so that therental mark 410 overlaps with the icon image 404.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the process of deriving the timeinformation. In the license information processing unit 240, if thecontent is determined to be rental content, the valid period extractingunit 246 acquires the valid period information indicating the start timeof the valid period and the end time of the valid period from thelicense information and provides the valid period information to thevalid period processing unit 220. The valid period processing unit 220acquires the valid period information (S30). The playback timeinformation acquiring unit 222 checks whether the first playback timeinformation exists by referring to the key file 306 corresponding to thelicense (S32). If the first playback time information exists (Y in S32),it acquires the information (S34) and provides the information to thestart time derivation unit 224 and the end time derivation unit 226. Ifthe first playback time information does not exist (N in S32), the starttime derivation unit 224 and the end time derivation unit 226 derive thestart time and the end time of the valid period of the content based onthe valid period information, respectively (S36). On the other hand, ifthe first playback time information is acquired, the start timederivation unit 224 and the end time derivation unit 226 derive thestart time and the end time of the valid period of the content based onthe first playback time information and the valid period information,respectively (S36). In this process, the remaining time derivation unit228 may derive the remaining time of the valid period.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process of specifying a license to beused. A user instructs an icon image 404 on the menu screen 400 to playback, and then the playback instructing unit 206 issues an instructionfor playing back the content corresponding to the icon image 404 (S50).The license usage specifying unit 282 receives the instruction anddetermines whether or not the license of the user who instructed theicon image 404 to play back is valid, accordingly (S52). If the licenseis not valid (N in S52), the license usage specifying unit 282determines whether there exists a valid license of another user (S54).If the license of the user who instructed the playback is valid (Y inS52), the license usage specifying unit 282 specifies the license of theuser as a license to be used (S56).

If other users do not have a valid license either (N in S54), it isdetermined that there is no valid license for the content instructed tobe played back. In this case, the purchase screen of the content may bedisplayed. On the other hand, if another user has a valid license (Y inS54), the license usage specifying unit 282 specifies the license as alicense to be used (S56). The license usage specifying unit 282 mayspecify a license that has the earliest valid time limit from among thevalid licenses of other users as a license to be used.

Given above is an explanation based on the exemplary embodiments. Theseembodiments are intended to be illustrative only and it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that various modifications to constitutingelements and processes could be developed and that such modificationsare also within the scope of the present invention.

If the icon image 404 in the focus region is instructed to play back,the confirmation screen generating unit 360 may generate a confirmationscreen for asking a user whether to play back before the playbackcontrolling unit 280 starts a process for playing the content back. Inthe content purchasing system 1, if the playback is started, the validtime limit is set to be the time that is twenty-four hours later.Therefore, it is not preferable if the playback of content is startedwhen the playback instruction is given to the icon image 404 in case theinstruction is caused by an error in manipulation by the user.Therefore, the confirmation screen may be presented and the decodingunit 310 may start the decoding process after receiving the confirmationto start from the user.

In case where a plurality of pieces of license information for samecontent exists, the end time derivation unit 226 may derive the end timethat comes the latest. In case the valid periods derived from aplurality of pieces of license information overlap with each other, theend time derivation unit 226 may derive the end time that comes thelatest. In the content purchasing system 1, it is set so as to allow aperson to watch/listen to content regardless whether or not the personis the owner of the content. Therefore, by deriving the end time thatcomes the latest and, for example, by allowing the time informationdisposing unit 358 to include the end time in the menu screen whileassociating the derived end time with an icon image (thumbnail image), auser can assess that there is still time so that he/she does not have tofeel strained to watch and/or listen to the content when he/she does nothave enough time. Further, by allowing the time information disposingunit 378 to include the time information relating to the derived validperiod while associating the time information with a thumbnail image, auser can instantaneously grasp each status of the licenses belonging tolicense owners, including the user himself/herself. For example, bydisplaying the time information, wherein the valid periods for aplurality of licenses are put together, as shown immediately below thethumbnail image 412 on the detailed information screen 420, a user caneasily grasp the valid period derived from a plurality of licenses.

For example, assume that the valid period of respective licenses are:from the 1st of June to the 14th of June for user A, from the 7th ofJune to the 21st of June for user B, and from the 1st of July to the14th of July for user C. Among these periods, the valid period for userA and that of user B overlap with each other, and the valid period foruser C does not overlap with the valid period for any other user. Inthis case, the valid period processing unit 220 may derive two validperiods.

That is, as the first valid period, the start time derivation unit 224derives the 1st of June as the start time of the valid period, and theend time derivation unit 226 derives the 21st of June as the end time ofthe valid period. Further, as the second valid period, the start timederivation unit 224 derives the 1st of July as the start time of thevalid period, and the end time derivation unit 226 derives the 14th ofJune as the end time of the valid period. Time information relating tothese two valid periods may be displayed in a field located immediatelybelow the thumbnail image 412 on the detailed information screen 420 sothat the first valid period is displayed in the upper row and the secondvalid period is displayed in the lower row. This time information ispreferably disposed so that the valid period of with the earlier validtime limit is displayed in the upper row. This time information may bedisplayed on the menu screen.

The end time derivation unit 226 may derive a virtual valid time limitwhile taking into consideration the time needed for playing back thecontent. In a similar manner, the remaining time derivation unit 228 mayderive a virtual remaining time while taking into consideration the timeneeded for playing back the content. More specifically, the end timederivation unit 226 derives the end time by subtracting the time neededfor playing back the content from the end time explained in theexemplary embodiment. Similarly, the remaining time derivation unit 228derives the remaining time by subtracting the time needed for playingback the content from the remaining time explained in the exemplaryembodiment. This enables the presentation of the time when the usershould start playing back the content in order to assure the completeplayback of the content, and the user can start to watch and/or listento the content while referring to the time as a target.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, technology for improving userfriendliness in handling rental content can be provided.

1-17. (canceled) 18: An information processing apparatus for acquiringcontent from a distribution server and playing back the content,comprising a processor comprising a hardware, wherein the processor isconfigured to: display an icon image of the content; display informationon a valid time limit in association with the icon image of the content;dispose a rental mark near the icon image of the content or dispose therental mark so as to overlap with the icon image of the content in acase where the content is rental content; and generate a playbackinstruction for the content when a user operates the icon image of thecontent. 19: The information processing apparatus according to claim 18,wherein the processor is configured to: display (a) information of auser who is permitted to watch the content and (b) the information onthe valid time limit, in the same display screen. 20: The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the processor isconfigured to: display the rental mark in such a manner as to call auser's attention when remaining time is less than a predetermined periodbefore the valid time limit. 21: The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 18, wherein the processor is configured to: display(a) a thumbnail image of the content, (b) information on rental period,and (c) information that the content can be played back within apredetermined hours after the first play back, in the same displayscreen. 22: The information processing apparatus according to claim 18,wherein the processor is configured to: display (a) the thumbnail imageof the content, (b) the information on rental period, and (c) theinformation that the content can be played back within the predeterminedhours after the first play back, in a detailed information screen of thecontent. 23: A method, comprising: displaying an icon image of contentacquired from a distribution server; displaying information on a validtime limit in association with the icon image of the content; disposinga rental mark near the icon image of the content or disposing the rentalmark so as to overlap with the icon image of the content in a case wherethe content is rental content; and generating a playback instruction forthe content when a user operates the icon image of the content. 24: Themethod according to claim 23, further comprising: displaying (a)information of a user who is permitted to watch the content and (b) theinformation on the valid time limit, in the same display screen. 25: Themethod according to claim 23, further comprising: displaying the rentalmark in such a manner as to call a user's attention when remaining timeis less than a predetermined period before the valid time limit. 26: Themethod according to claim 23, further comprising: displaying (a) athumbnail image of the content, (b) information on rental period, and(c) information that the content can be played back within apredetermined hours after the first play back, in the same displayscreen. 27: The method according to claim 23, further comprising:displaying (a) the thumbnail image of the content, (b) the informationon rental period, and (c) the information that the content can be playedback within the predetermined hours after the first play back, in adetailed information screen of the content. 28: A non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium storing one or more programs adapted tocause a processor-based system to execute steps comprising: displayingan icon image of content acquired from a distribution server; displayinginformation on a valid time limit in association with the icon image ofthe content; disposing a rental mark near the icon image of the contentor disposing the rental mark so as to overlap with the icon image of thecontent in a case where the content is rental content; and generating aplayback instruction for the content when a user operates the icon imageof the content. 29: The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumaccording to claim 28, wherein the one or more programs are furtheradapted to cause the processor-based system to execute steps comprising:displaying (a) information of a user who is permitted to watch thecontent and (b) the information on the valid time limit, in the samedisplay screen. 30: The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumaccording to claim 28, wherein the one or more programs are furtheradapted to cause the processor-based system to execute steps comprising:displaying the rental mark in such a manner as to call a user'sattention when remaining time is less than a predetermined period beforethe valid time limit. 31: The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium according to claim 28, wherein the one or more programs arefurther adapted to cause the processor-based system to execute stepscomprising: displaying (a) a thumbnail image of the content, (b)information on rental period, and (c) information that the content canbe played back within a predetermined hours after the first play back,in the same display screen. 32: The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium according to claim 28, wherein the one or more programsare further adapted to cause the processor-based system to execute stepscomprising: displaying (a) the thumbnail image of the content, (b) theinformation on rental period, and (c) the information that the contentcan be played back within the predetermined hours after the first playback, in a detailed information screen of the content.